Featured recipe

Habichuelas guisadas

Stewed pink beans

Habichuelas guisadas are on the stove most weekdays in Puerto Rico, from Ponce to Fajardo, ladled over plain white rice for the everyday plate called arroz con habichuelas. Pink or red beans simmer with sofrito, tomato sauce and olives, and cubes of calabaza (West Indian pumpkin) melt into the pot to make a thick, orange-red, gently sweet sauce. It's homely, cheap and deeply savoury. Island cooks often add a piece of ham; this version doesn't need it. Chef's tip: when the pumpkin is soft, crush a few pieces against the side of the pot; they dissolve into the liquid and thicken it without any flour.

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Ang ku kuehRed glutinous rice cakes

Red for luck and shaped like a tortoise for long life, ang ku kueh are carried to Hokkien and Teochew family altars and handed out in boxes at a baby's first-month celebration, at elders' birthdays and at temple festivals across Singapore, from Chinatown shophouses to neighbourhood confectioners in Bukit Merah. The skin is soft, chewy and slightly elastic, made from glutinous rice flour kneaded with mashed sweet potato, and it wraps a smooth, mildly sweet filling of split mung bean (or crushed peanut and sugar). Each cake is pressed in a carved wooden mould and steamed on a square of banana leaf. The usual mistake is steaming over a fierce boil, which makes the skin puff up, crack and lose the printed pattern; steam gently with the lid slightly open. Chef's tip: brush the cakes with a little oil the moment they come out of the steamer, so the pattern shines and the skin doesn't dry out or stick together.

130 min

Singaporean Desserts

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Brabants worstenbroodSausage roll

Worstenbrood is a Brabant institution, bought from bakeries in Eindhoven, Tilburg and Den Bosch for birthday mornings, Sunday breakfast and above all for carnival in February: a soft, slightly sweet bread dough wrapped around a log of minced pork seasoned with nutmeg, pepper and clove, baked golden. This is a pork dish. A common mistake is wrapping the dough too thick, which leaves a doughy roll and an undercooked middle. Chef's tip: roll the dough thin and bake until the filling reaches 71 °C; eat it warm from the oven.

70 min

Dutch Snacks & Starters

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Doi chiraFlattened rice with curd

Nothing is cooked for doi chira, which is why it has been the breakfast of farmers and fishermen in Barisal for generations: flattened rice is rinsed, softened in thick, slightly sour curd and sweetened with jaggery or sugar, then mashed together with a ripe banana. The texture is soft and creamy with a little chew from the rice flakes, and the taste is cool, sweet and tangy. It is eaten on hot summer mornings, at village fairs and as part of the Pohela Boishakh spread, and it is a favourite of children and of anyone fasting who wants something gentle. The usual misstep is soaking the chira for too long, which turns it to paste; a quick rinse is all it needs before the curd does the rest. Chef's tip: use thick-cut chira, not the thin kind for frying, so the flakes hold their shape.

10 min

Bangladeshi Breakfast & Brunch

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Babath curryBeef tripe curry

Babath curry belongs to the Muslim and Malay kitchens of Colombo and Slave Island, a frugal, rich dish of beef tripe that turns up at family lunches and in small rice-and-curry cafés where regulars ask for it by name. The tripe is cleaned, boiled with turmeric and vinegar until soft, then sliced into ribbons and simmered in a dark roasted curry with black pepper, cinnamon and a little coconut milk until it soaks up all the spice. The texture is pleasantly chewy and the gravy deep, hot and slightly sour, and it is eaten with rice, roti or bread to mop up the sauce. Many first attempts fail because the tripe is not boiled long enough first, so it stays rubbery however long it spends in the curry. Chef's tip: buy cleaned, bleached honeycomb tripe from a halal butcher, and boil it until a knife slides through with no resistance before you start the curry.

150 min

Sri Lankan Meat

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Babi pangangCrispy pork in sweet-sour sauce

Babi pangang is one of the most ordered dishes in the 'Chinees-Indisch' restaurants found in every Dutch town: crisp-skinned roast pork belly, sliced and smothered in a bright red, sweet-sour sauce with tomato, ginger and pickled vegetables, served with rice or nasi goreng. This is a pork dish. A common mistake is pouring the sauce over too early, which turns the crackling soft. Chef's tip: dry the skin overnight in the fridge and roast it hot at the end, then pour the sauce around, not over, the pork at the table. Whole pork joints are safe at 63 °C plus a rest; belly is best cooked longer, until tender.

105 min

Dutch Meat

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AndijviestamppotEndive and Gouda mash

Stamppot, mashed potato stirred with vegetables, is the Dutch winter dinner, and the endive version is a little lighter: raw, finely shredded curly endive is stirred into piping-hot mash, so it wilts slightly but keeps a fresh, bitter crunch, then cubes of aged Gouda are folded in and start to melt. Dutch families eat it with gravy and a smoked sausage; this vegetarian version uses a pool of brown butter. Aged Gouda is usually made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian aged Gouda-style cheese. A common mistake is cooking the endive, which turns it soggy and grey. Chef's tip: stir the endive in off the heat at the very last moment.

30 min

Dutch Vegetarian

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Espageti ayisyenSpaghetti with hot dogs

In Haiti, spaghetti is a breakfast food, and Saturday mornings in many homes start with a big pan of espageti: thin pasta tossed with sliced hot dogs fried in epis, tomato paste and a little hot pepper, often eaten with a boiled egg or a slice of avocado. It is quick, salty, savoury and loved by children. The mistake to avoid is boiling the pasta fully, then frying; it turns mushy, so cook it just short of done. Fry the hot dogs until piping hot all through (71 °C), as with any sausage. Chef's tip: save a cup of the pasta water; a splash of it turns the tomato and epis into a glossy coating.

30 min

Haitian Breakfast & Brunch

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Anday ka halwaEgg halwa

Sweet, golden and grainy like a rich crumble, egg halwa is the quick showpiece of Hyderabadi and Karachi home kitchens, made when unexpected guests arrive or for a winter Sunday, and it fills the house with the smell of ghee and cardamom. Eggs are beaten with milk, sugar and milk powder, then stirred in ghee until the custard sets, breaks and finally fries into soft, sandy granules that cling together like khoya; there is no eggy taste once it is properly cooked. It is served warm in small bowls, topped with almonds and pistachios, sometimes with a few saffron threads. The commonest failure is stopping too soon, when the halwa is still wet and scrambled-egg-like, rather than cooking on until it turns granular and golden and the ghee separates. Chef's tip: strain the beaten egg mixture through a sieve before cooking, which removes the stringy whites and gives a smooth, even grain.

50 min

Pakistani Indian Sweets

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KoththamalliCoriander and ginger brew

At the first sniffle, many Sri Lankan mothers put a pot of koththamalli on the stove, and in Colombo offices and up in the damp hill towns during the monsoon you will see people sipping it from steel tumblers instead of tea. Coriander seeds are toasted, cracked and boiled with plenty of ginger until the water turns amber, giving a warm, earthy, slightly citrusy drink with a gentle ginger burn. It is traditionally drunk unsweetened with a piece of kithul or palm jaggery held in the other hand and nibbled between sips, though you can dissolve the jaggery in if you prefer. Grinding the seeds to powder is a mistake, because the drink turns muddy and gritty; they should only be cracked. Chef's tip: toast the coriander just until it darkens a shade and smells like orange peel; that is when the oils are at their best.

20 min

Sri Lankan Drinks

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Karawila sambolaFried bitter gourd salad

Even people who claim to hate bitter gourd tend to come round to karawila sambola, the crunchy, tangy salad that turns up on rice and curry plates from the coast to the eastern towns. Paper-thin slices of the knobbly green gourd are salted to draw out some of the bitterness, fried until they are crisp like crisps, and then tossed at the last minute with raw red onion, green chilli, tomato and plenty of lime. The result is salty, sour and gently bitter, a bright contrast to rich coconut curries. Many cooks also scatter in Maldive fish flakes; this vegan version leaves them out. The mistake to avoid is mixing the salad too early, since the lime and tomato juice soften the fried slices within minutes. Chef's tip: squeeze the salted slices really hard in a clean cloth before frying; the drier they are, the crisper and less oily they come out.

30 min

Sri Lankan Salads

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Anda parathaEgg-stuffed paratha

At the dhabas along the GT Road and the breakfast stalls of Rawalpindi's Saddar, the paratha-wala cracks an egg straight into a bowl with onion and chilli, half-cooks a paratha, pours the egg over and flips the whole thing onto the tawa so the egg fries into the bread. The result is one golden, layered disc that is crisp at the edges, soft where the egg meets the dough, and peppery with green chilli. Truck drivers, students and office workers eat it folded in half with chai, ketchup or green chutney, and it is a common packed lunch for school because it needs no curry. The problem most people run into is pouring the egg onto a raw paratha, which tears, or onto a fully cooked one, which will not let the egg stick. Chef's tip: cook the first side only until brown spots appear, then add the egg to the cooked side and flip so the egg sets against the hot iron.

30 min

Pakistani Breakfast & Brunch

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KremboChocolate-coated meringue cream biscuit

Krembo is Israel's winter treat: from October to February children all over the country unwrap the foil, argue about whether to eat the top or the bottom first, and end up with chocolate on their fingers. A round biscuit carries a tall dome of light, vanilla-scented meringue cream inside a thin shell of dark chocolate. This home version uses a cooked Italian-style meringue, made by pouring hot sugar syrup into whisked egg whites, so the whites are heated and the cream holds its shape without gelatine. The common mistake is dipping when the chocolate is too hot, which melts the meringue; let it cool until just warm. Chef's tip: freeze the piped domes for 20 minutes before dipping so the coating sets in a thin, even shell.

60 min

Israeli Desserts

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KremroleCream-filled puff pastry tubes

Every Czech cukrárna, the old-fashioned pastry shop, has a tray of kremrole in the glass counter: flaky puff pastry spirals baked around metal cones and piped full of light, sweet whipped egg-white cream. Children choose them for name days and they are a Sunday coffee treat in towns all over Bohemia and Moravia. The pastry should shatter, the cream should be glossy, stiff and marshmallowy. This filling is a cooked meringue, whisked over simmering water to 70 °C, so it is safe to eat and holds its shape. A common mistake is filling the tubes too early: within a couple of hours the cream softens the crisp pastry. Pipe them just before serving. You will need 12 metal cream horn moulds. Chef's tip: overlap the pastry strips by a third as you wind them on, so the tubes do not unravel in the oven.

90 min

Czech Desserts

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KroppkakorPotato dumplings with onion and mushroom

Kroppkakor are the big potato dumplings of Öland and Småland in south-east Sweden, made with a mix of raw grated and boiled potato, which gives them their soft, slightly grey look. On Öland they are the island's own dish, served at village feasts with melted butter and lingonberries; the usual filling is diced salt pork and onion. This version fills them with fried onion, mushroom and allspice. A common mistake is boiling the pot hard; the dumplings break up and turn the water to soup. Chef's tip: squeeze the raw grated potato hard in a cloth, then let the starch settle in the bowl and stir it back in; that starch is what holds kroppkakor together.

90 minScandinavian Vegetarian

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BacánPlantain and pork parcels

Bacán belongs to Baracoa, the coconut-growing corner of eastern Cuba, where it is made for family gatherings and sold wrapped at weekend markets. Grated green plantain is mixed with fresh coconut milk into a soft dough, wrapped around a filling of seasoned pork in a banana leaf and steamed until set, a little like a tamal but sweeter and silkier. The pork is shoulder, cooked in a sofrito before wrapping. The common mistake is using ripe plantain, which won't set; it must be hard and green. Chef's tip: pass the banana leaves briefly over a flame or hot pan until they turn glossy and supple, and they will fold without splitting.

120 min

Cuban Meat

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Krumplis tésztaPasta with potatoes and paprika

Pasta with potato sounds like a joke to outsiders, but on the farms of the Great Plain krumplis tészta was a thrifty, filling supper for harvest days, and Hungarian children still ask for it by name. Little squares of egg pasta are tossed with soft, crushed potatoes that have been fried in onion and sweet paprika until golden in spots, so every forkful is starchy, soft and smoky-sweet. Traditionally it is cooked in lard; this version uses sunflower oil and is vegetarian. Eat it with a sharp cucumber salad or pickles to cut the richness, and a spoon of sour cream if you like. A common mistake is adding the paprika to a very hot pan, where it scorches in seconds and turns bitter; always pull the pan off the heat first. Chef's tip: let the potatoes catch slightly on the bottom of the pan before you add the pasta, for crunchy, toasty bits.

40 min

Hungarian Pasta & Noodles

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Karawala thel dalaStir-fried dried fish

Every Sri Lankan market from Negombo to Trincomalee has a stall stacked with karawala, sun-dried salted fish, and when the larder is low or the rain keeps the boats in, a quick thel dala turns a small piece of it into something to wake up a plate of rice. Strips or small whole fish are fried until crisp, then tossed with plenty of onion, tomato, green chilli and chilli flakes until they are glossy, salty, smoky and hot. It is eaten in small amounts beside dhal, rice and a mild vegetable curry, or with kiribath and pol roti for breakfast, and it keeps for a day or two. Watch out for the classic fault of skipping the soak, which leaves the dish far too salty to eat. Chef's tip: fry the soaked fish until really crunchy before the onions go in; that crisp edge is what makes it addictive.

25 min

Sri Lankan Fish

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Karela piazBitter gourd with onions

Bitter gourd divides every family in Punjab, but karela piaz is the version that wins over the doubters: the gourd is salted, squeezed and fried until its edges crisp, then tossed with almost as much browned onion as karela, so the sweetness of the onions softens the bitterness. In Lahore it is a summer dish, a staple of tiffin carriers and home lunches with chapati and a cooling bowl of raita, and some households pack it for long train journeys because it keeps well. The thing most people get wrong is skimping on the onions or rushing them; pale, half-cooked onions leave the dish harsh rather than mellow. Chef's tip: rub the slices with salt and a little turmeric, leave them for 30 minutes, then squeeze hard by the handful, which draws out much of the bitterness before cooking.

70 min

Pakistani Vegetarian

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Karachi halwaCornflour halwa

Glassy, jewel-bright and chewy like a Turkish delight with more bite, Karachi halwa is the sweet that the city's mithai shops on Saddar and Tariq Road stack in orange, green and red slabs studded with cashews and melon seeds, and it travels well as a gift to family abroad. It is made from cornflour cooked with sugar syrup and lemon until it turns clear, then fed with ghee spoon by spoon until it shines and pulls away from the pan in one elastic mass. Across the border it is called Bombay halwa, and in Pakistan it is a staple for weddings, Eid and Diwali sweet boxes from the Hindu shops of Sindh. Lots of cooks lose their nerve and stop before the halwa has absorbed all the ghee and turned translucent, and it sets cloudy and sticky. Chef's tip: work the halwa with a flat wooden spatula and add the ghee only when the previous spoonful has disappeared; when the ghee starts to leak back out, it is done.

60 min

Pakistani Indian Sweets

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Kubbeh hamustaSour lemon soup with dumplings

In Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market, small kubbeh restaurants ladle out kubbeh hamusta at lunchtime, a bright yellow-green soup of chard, courgette and celery soured with plenty of lemon, carrying semolina dumplings stuffed with spiced beef. It came with Kurdish and Iraqi Jews and is cooked at home on Thursdays and Fridays, often in a big pot that lasts until Shabbat. The broth is sharp, garlicky and light, the dumplings chewy outside and juicy within. Thick semolina shells are the most common mistake; press them thin so they cook through in the soup. Chef's tip: add the lemon in two goes, half at the start and half at the end, so the soup keeps a fresh sour edge.

120 min

Israeli Soups

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Kubbeh selekBeetroot soup with meat dumplings

Kubbeh selek is the deep magenta sister of the lemon kubbeh soups, a Kurdish-Jewish Friday dish that Jerusalem kubbeh houses around Mahane Yehuda serve on winter days alongside the yellow hamusta. Beetroot, tomato and a little sugar and lemon give a broth that is sweet and sour at once, and the semolina dumplings stuffed with beef soak up its colour as they simmer. A bowl of white rice on the side is traditional. The mistake most people make is boiling the beetroot too long, which dulls the colour to brown; add the final grated beetroot near the end. Chef's tip: wear gloves when grating beetroot, and keep your semolina hands wet, not floured, for thin, crack-free shells.

120 min

Israeli Soups

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AnababeroLayered injera with spiced butter

Ask for anababero at a breakfast café in Addis Ababa and two injeras arrive stacked as one, glued together with melted niter kibbeh and a dusting of berbere, then warmed on the griddle until the butter soaks through. The result is soft and tangy inside, a little crisp at the edges, and much richer than plain injera; the name roughly means 'layered' or 'piled on top'. It is torn and eaten as it is with sweet spiced tea or coffee, or served beside a bowl of ayib or a spoon of awaze for anyone who wants it hotter. Because it uses yesterday's injera, it is a favourite way to turn leftovers into a proper breakfast. Chef's tip: brush the butter on warm, not hot, so it melts into the injera's holes instead of pooling on the surface.

13 min

Ethiopian Breads & Parathas

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KapamaPork, chicken and sauerkraut feast pot

In the stone houses of Bansko, beneath the Pirin mountains, kapama is the dish of the winter holidays, carried to the table in its clay pot at Christmas, New Year and the masked Kukeri carnival. Pork shoulder, chicken on the bone and fresh pork sausage are layered with sauerkraut, rice and paprika, then sealed and baked for hours until the meat falls apart and the rice has soaked up the tangy, smoky juices. Old cooks seal the lid with a rope of dough; this version uses foil under a tight lid, which keeps it gluten free. Serve with extra sauerkraut and pickled peppers. The usual slip is lifting the lid too often, which lets out the steam and dries the top layer. Chef's tip: taste a strand of the sauerkraut first and rinse it only if it is very salty; its sourness is the backbone of the dish.

295 min

Bulgarian Meat

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Karađorđeva šniclaBreaded stuffed pork roll

Belgrade restaurants have served this since a local chef created it in the mid-20th century, naming it after Karađorđe, leader of the First Serbian Uprising; diners fondly call it the maiden's dream. A thin pork escalope (veal is the other classic) is spread with kajmak, Serbia's rich, slightly tangy clotted cream, rolled tight, double-breaded and fried into a golden log that oozes when cut. It comes with chips or roast potatoes, a lemon wedge and tartar sauce. If you can't find kajmak, beat cream cheese with a little soft butter and a pinch of salt. Rolling it loosely is the mistake that ruins it, because the cream escapes into the oil; roll tightly and chill before breading. Chef's tip: fry only until golden, then finish in the oven, so the crumb stays crisp while the pork cooks through to the centre.

60 minBalkan Meat

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KuchmachiChicken hearts and livers with walnuts

Kuchmachi is supra food from western Georgia, particularly Imereti and Racha: offal, usually chicken hearts and livers or beef tripe and liver, fried with onion and then folded into a spicy walnut sauce and showered with pomegranate seeds. It is served warm or at room temperature in a clay dish, with cold wine and bread. This version uses chicken offal, which is easy to find and quick to cook. A common mistake is overcooking the livers until grainy; take them off as soon as the centre has lost its pink. Chef's tip: fry hearts and livers separately, since hearts need longer. Chicken offal is cooked when no pink remains and it reaches 74 °C.

50 min

Georgian Meat

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Dominican catibíasBeef-filled cassava turnovers

Catibías are the cassava cousins of empanadas, made in Dominican kitchens and sold at frituras stands in the Cibao and along the Malecón as an afternoon snack. Boiled cassava is mashed with oil and a touch of anise into a smooth, pliable dough, folded around seasoned beef mince and fried until the outside is crisp and blistered and the inside chewy. Because there is no wheat, they are naturally gluten free. The common mistake is letting the cassava cool before mashing; it becomes stringy and won't come together, so mash it hot. Chef's tip: pull out the woody fibre in the middle of each cassava piece after boiling, or the dough will tear.

75 min

Puerto Rican Snacks & Starters

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KarjalanpaistiBeef and pork hotpot

Karjalanpaisti, the Karelian hotpot, is one of Finland's national dishes, cooked for Independence Day, family celebrations and Christmas: chunks of beef and pork, sometimes lamb, layered with onion, whole allspice and bay, covered with water and baked slowly for hours in a clay pot until the meats are falling apart in a rich, peppery broth. This dish contains pork. It is served with mashed potato and lingonberries. A common mistake is a hot oven, which toughens the meat. Chef's tip: do not stir or brown the meat; Karelian cooks let it bake low and slow, and the long cooking alone gives the deep flavour.

260 minScandinavian Curries

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Katino mezePork and mushrooms in cream

Every Bulgarian mehana, the wood-panelled tavern, has Katino meze on the menu, sizzling in a small clay dish next to a shopska salad, and it is quick enough for a weeknight at home. Thin strips of pork loin are seared, then tossed with mushrooms, onion and pickled gherkin, deglazed with dry white wine and finished with cream, black pepper and a pinch of hot chilli. For an alcohol-free sauce, swap the wine for the same amount of vegetable stock with a teaspoon of white wine vinegar or a splash of white grape juice. Serve with crusty bread or chips. A common mistake is crowding the pan: the pork stews grey instead of browning, so sear it in two batches. Chef's tip: cut the pork across the grain into finger-thin strips while it is half-frozen; it slices neatly and stays tender.

35 min

Bulgarian Meat

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Amra chutneyHog plum chutney

Barisal is famous for its amra, the green, tart hog plums that pile up on market stalls from August to October, and every household there turns some of the harvest into a glossy, jammy chutney. The fruit is scored so the jaggery syrup can soak in, then simmered with panch phoron, dried chilli and a little turmeric until the flesh is soft around the hard, spiny stone. Sweet, sour and gently hot, it is served at the end of a wedding feast or a festive lunch, a spoonful eaten with the last of the rice, and children suck the stones clean. Cooking it too hard reduces the syrup to toffee once it cools, so stop while it still runs off the spoon. Chef's tip: if you can't find hog plums, sour green plums or a firm green mango cut into chunks make a good stand-in.

40 min

Bangladeshi Chutneys & Dips

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Kancha kola bhortaGreen banana mash

Green cooking bananas are cheap all year in Bangladeshi markets, and in homes from Comilla to Kushtia they are boiled whole and turned into a pale, gently starchy bhorta that is more filling than it looks. The flesh is mashed while warm with raw onion, green chilli, coriander and a generous splash of mustard oil, so it tastes mild and earthy with a sharp, nose-tingling finish. It is a weekday lunch with rice and dal, food for someone recovering from illness, and a regular on the bhorta platter during the Pohela Boishakh meal. Peeling the bananas before boiling makes them waterlogged and gluey, so they go into the pot in their skins. Chef's tip: mash while still warm; cold green banana goes hard and lumpy and won't absorb the oil.

25 min

Bangladeshi Chutneys & Dips

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Diram fittiSprouted wheat bread with butter

High in the Hunza valley, diram is flour ground from wheat that has been soaked, sprouted and sun-dried, and it gives this thick, round bread a gentle natural sweetness and a faintly malty smell. Diram fitti is cooked slowly in a covered pan, then broken into rough pieces while still hot and drowned in melted butter and a little apricot-kernel oil, so it turns rich, soft and fragrant; in Karimabad and Altit it is made for guests, for festivals such as Ginani at harvest time and to feed someone through a hard winter. It is eaten with the hands, often with salty Hunza tea. Pale, raw centres are the common fault, so cook it slowly with the lid on. Chef's tip: sprouted wheat flour is sold in health-food shops; use only food-grade culinary apricot-kernel oil, or swap in walnut oil or more butter.

60 min

Pakistani Breads & Parathas

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BagiyaSesame jaggery rice dumplings

When the new rice is harvested in late autumn, Maithil households in Janakpur, Siraha and Saptari steam bagiya, plump spindle-shaped dumplings of rice-flour dough that are offered to the gods, given to married daughters visiting home and eaten warm on cold winter mornings. The smooth, chewy shell hides a sweet centre, here toasted sesame bound with melted jaggery and a pinch of cardamom, though some families use molasses toffee (chaku), grated coconut or sweetened milk solids instead. Plain bagiya are also made and eaten with chutney. A common slip is using cold water for the dough, which makes it crumble and split; it must be made with boiling water. Chef's tip: knead the dough while it is still as hot as your hands can bear, with a little oil on your palms, until it is as smooth as play dough.

60 min

Nepali Indian Sweets

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BozartmaLamb stew with tomato and saffron

Bozartma comes from Ganja, Azerbaijan's second city at the foot of the Lesser Caucasus, where lamb on the bone is browned and then stewed with a mountain of onions and tomatoes until the sauce turns thick and red-gold with saffron. The name hints at the browning (boz, 'grey-brown'), and Ganja cooks say the onions must melt completely. It is eaten with bread and greens, and a chicken version is common too. A common mistake is adding water; the onions and tomatoes give all the liquid needed. Chef's tip: cook it uncovered for the last 15 minutes, until the fat rises to the top; that is how Ganja cooks know bozartma is ready.

105 min

Azerbaijani Meat

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Kancha gollaFresh cheese balls with cardamom

Natore, a quiet district town north of the Padma, is known throughout Bangladesh for one sweet, and a visit there is incomplete without a clay pot of kanchagolla to carry home. Kancha means raw, and the name is a joke at the sweet's expense: unlike rasgulla or chomchom, it is never boiled in syrup but simply kneaded fresh chhana with sugar, warmed in a pan for a few minutes and rolled into soft balls scented with cardamom. The texture is moist and faintly grainy, the taste milky and gently sweet, best eaten within a day or two. Cooking the mixture too long is what most home cooks get wrong; it turns dry and crumbly, more like sandesh. Chef's tip: make the chhana from full-fat milk and squeeze it only lightly, so plenty of moisture stays in for that melting Natore texture.

60 min

Bangladeshi Indian Sweets

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KanchembaFried buckwheat fingers

In the Thakali villages of Thak Khola, kanchemba is what is fried when visitors arrive in the afternoon or when the family gathers on a winter evening, and it has since become a favourite snack in Thakali restaurants in Pokhara and Kathmandu. The buckwheat dough is seasoned with turmeric, chilli and a little onion, rolled into thick fingers, then deep-fried until crunchy outside and soft and nutty in the centre. A punchy dipping achar of tomato, chilli, garlic and roasted timur comes alongside, and the pair is eaten with a bowl of salty butter tea or a glass of hot water. The trouble usually starts when the fingers are too thick, so the middle stays pasty while the outside darkens. Chef's tip: keep the fingers no thicker than your own, and fry at a moderate heat so they cook through before they brown.

40 min

Nepali Snacks & Starters

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Dimer chopEgg-in-potato croquettes

Glass cabinets at Dhaka's sweet shops and snack counters, from New Market to Mirpur, always hold a row of dimer chop, oval golden-crumbed parcels that, when cut, reveal half a boiled egg nested inside a layer of spiced potato. They are bought for afternoon tea, birthday parties and school tiffin and eaten with kasundi mustard sauce, tomato ketchup and a little sliced onion and cucumber. Some versions mix minced meat into the potato; this one keeps it vegetarian, with garam masala, ginger and fried onion for depth. Soft-boiled eggs are a mistake here: they must be fully hard-boiled so the yolk is firm and the chop is safe and easy to wrap. Chef's tip: chill the crumbed chops for 15 minutes before frying so the coating stays put.

50 min

Bangladeshi Snacks & Starters

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Bahamian guava duffSteamed guava roll

Guava duff is the Bahamas' best-loved dessert, served at Junkanoo season, Sunday dinners and Nassau restaurants alike: a soft dough spread with sweet stewed guava, rolled up, wrapped in cloth or foil and steamed until tender, then sliced and drowned in a warm butter sauce. Traditionally the sauce has rum in it, which is only lightly cooked, so the rum version is for adults only; the vanilla sauce below makes it alcohol-free for everyone. The most common mistake is rolling the duff too tight, which stops it rising; leave room in the wrapping for it to swell. Chef's tip: sieve the guava pulp to remove the hard seeds, and keep the thick paste for the filling.

135 minCaribbean Desserts

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DibyazaApricot and date compote

No Eid table in Jeddah or Mecca is complete without a bowl of dibyaza, a thick, glossy compote that old Hejazi families make the night before the festival and serve at breakfast alongside cheese, olives and fresh bread. Sheets of dried apricot paste melt into a tangy orange syrup that wraps around soft dates, figs, prunes and crunchy nuts, so every spoonful is sweet, sour and jammy at once. Some households stir in fried onion for a savoury edge; this version keeps it to fruit and nuts. People often boil it hard and scorch the bottom, because apricot paste catches very easily. Keep the heat low and stir from the base. It keeps for a week in the fridge. Chef's tip: soak the apricot paste in hot water until completely soft before it goes near the heat; it then dissolves smooth instead of leaving rubbery shreds.

60 minGulf Arabian Desserts

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DirkoshDried crisp injera

No Ethiopian kitchen throws injera away. Pieces that are past their best are torn up and dried in the sun, on the roof or on a tray by the fire until they snap like crackers, then kept in a sack or tin for weeks. This dirkosh is the backbone of quick meals on Wednesdays, Fridays and during the long Lent fast: a handful softened in a red onion and berbere sauce becomes fasting firfir in ten minutes, and travellers once carried it as food for the road. A low oven does the job at home in a few hours. Chef's tip: tear the injera into pieces no larger than a playing card; big sheets curl and stay leathery in the middle.

190 min

Ethiopian Basics

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Ambarella curryJune plum curry

Ambarella trees, heavy with green, plum-sized fruit, shade countless gardens around Galle, and when the crop comes in, cooks turn the sour, crunchy fruit into this sweet-sour curry for Sunday lunch and family gatherings. The fruits are scored and cooked whole with roasted curry powder, garlic, cinnamon and cloves, then sweetened with sugar and finished in coconut milk, until the flesh softens and drinks in the dark, glossy gravy. Its tangy, fruity flavour cuts through richer dishes, and it is served in small portions with rice alongside a dhal and a meat or fish curry. Each fruit hides a spiky, fibrous stone, so warn guests to nibble around it. Leaving the skins whole and unscored is where many go wrong, because the spices never get in; make several deep cuts in each fruit. Frozen ambarella is sold in Sri Lankan shops; firm green mango is the nearest stand-in. Chef's tip: let the curry rest for an hour before serving, as the fruit keeps soaking up flavour.

50 min

Sri Lankan Curries

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Kancha aamer tok dalGreen mango lentil dal

When the first hard, green mangoes fall from the trees around Rajshahi in April and May, cooks slice them into the dal pot, and the result is the most refreshing bowl of the hot season. Tok dal is deliberately thin, almost like a soup, with soft red lentils and slices of green mango that turn tender and tangy, finished with mustard seed and dried chilli crackling in mustard oil. It is eaten poured over plain rice, often as the last thing before a light fish or vegetable curry, because the sourness is meant to cool the body in the heat. Adding the mango at the start leaves it mushy and the dal overly sour, so it goes in once the lentils are soft. Chef's tip: taste the mango first; very sour fruit may need a pinch more sugar to balance it.

35 min

Bangladeshi Curries

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MuhammarSweet saffron rice

Muhammar is a golden, gently sweet rice from Bahrain, cooked with date syrup or sugar, saffron and rosewater, and its natural partner is fried or grilled fish, especially safi or hamour, so that the sweet rice and the salty, crisp fish balance on the same plate. It is a Friday lunch and Ramadan dish in Manama and Muharraq, and each family argues for its own ratio of sweetness. The grains should be separate and glossy with a faint caramel colour, not sticky. The most common error is boiling the rice too long before steaming, which turns it mushy once the sugar goes in. Chef's tip: let a thin crust form on the base during the steam; Bahrainis prize those crunchy sweet bits.

70 minGulf Arabian Rice & Grains

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Kumro phool boraPumpkin flower fritters

Pumpkin vines sprawl over village rooftops in the rainy season, and when they bloom the big orange-yellow flowers are picked in the morning, before they close, and fried for lunch. Each flower is dipped whole in a thin batter of rice flour and a little gram flour seasoned with nigella, turmeric and chilli, and fried in mustard oil until the edges are lacy and crisp while the petals inside stay soft and faintly sweet. They are eaten as a starter with hot rice and dal or as an afternoon snack with tea. Thick batter hides the flower and turns the fritter heavy, which is the most common fault; it should only lightly coat the petals. Chef's tip: pinch out the stamen inside the flower and the green sepals at the base before washing; both taste bitter.

20 min

Bangladeshi Snacks & Starters

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Kandahari tikkaGrilled lamb chunks

Kandahar's tikka houses pride themselves on doing very little to the meat: chunks of lamb, threaded on wide iron skewers with small pieces of tail fat between them, are rubbed with grated onion, salt and black pepper and grilled over fierce charcoal until the fat drips and flares. The result is smoky, juicy and peppery, with crisp edges and a clean lamb flavour, and it is served on hot naan with raw onion, tomato and a sharp green chutney. Over-marinating in onion is a common misstep, as the juice softens the surface into mush after a day; two to four hours is plenty. Chef's tip: let the skewers rest for 2 minutes on the naan before eating, so the bread soaks up the juices.

27 min

Afghan Meat

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DhikriSteamed rice flour dough shapes

For Maghi, the Tharu new year in mid-January, and for Dashain and Atwari, families in Dang, Bardiya and Kailali sit together on the floor shaping dhikri, long pieces of rice-flour dough rolled and twisted into ropes, spirals, fish, birds and finger-marked ridges before they are steamed. The finished pieces are soft, smooth and chewy, with a clean, sweetish rice flavour that makes them a canvas for whatever is served alongside: a spicy tomato and sesame chutney, a lentil soup, a vegetable curry or, in many homes, a festive meat curry. Leftovers are sliced and fried the next day. The usual mistake is mixing the dough too dry, which cracks as you shape it and steams up hard. Chef's tip: keep the dough covered with a damp cloth while you shape, and dip your fingers in water if it starts to crack.

45 min

Nepali Rice & Grains

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Kurakkan rotiFinger millet and coconut flatbread

Kurakkan, finger millet, was the grain of the dry chena plots and the hill villages long before white bread arrived, and these brown, nutty roti are still what many farming families around Badulla and Monaragala eat for breakfast or dinner. The flour is kneaded with plenty of fresh grated coconut and just enough water to hold, patted flat by hand and cooked on a dry clay pan until speckled and firm. They are dense and earthy, with a faint sweetness from the coconut, and taste best hot with a sharp spoonful of lunu miris or a mild dhal. Pressing the dough too thin is a classic error, because millet has no gluten and the roti crack and break; keep them about 5 mm thick. Chef's tip: shape them on a piece of oiled banana leaf or baking paper and flip them straight onto the pan, which saves them from tearing. Millet is naturally gluten free, but check the packet if you are cooking for coeliacs.

40 min

Sri Lankan Breads & Parathas

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Bajan fish cutterFried flying fish sandwich

Around Barbados a "cutter" is any sandwich in a salt bread roll, and the fish cutter is the lunch people queue for at beach bars from Oistins to Bathsheba: a piece of flying fish (or mahi-mahi, called dolphin locally) seasoned with Bajan seasoning, crumbed, fried crisp and stuffed into a split roll with lettuce, tomato and a dab of fiery yellow pepper sauce. The fish should be juicy and the crust shattering. The usual mistake is frying too cool, which makes the coating greasy; keep the oil hot and fry in small batches. Use flying fish fillets if you can find them frozen, or any thin white fish. Chef's tip: rub a little of the frying oil over the cut sides of the rolls and toast them in a dry pan, so the bread doesn't go soggy under the fish.

25 min

Bajan Fast Food

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Bajan jug jugPigeon peas and salt meat mash

Jug jug belongs to Christmas in Barbados, served alongside baked ham and roast pork on the big lunch table: green pigeon peas and salted beef and salted pork, cooked tender and minced, then stirred with guinea corn (sorghum) flour, herbs and onion into a thick, savoury, mouldable mash. Its roots are often traced to Scottish settlers' haggis and West African grain cookery, and it tastes rich, salty and herby. The common mistake is not soaking the salt meats long enough, which makes the whole pot too salty to eat; soak them overnight in plenty of water. Cook until the minced meat mixture is piping hot (71 °C) throughout. Chef's tip: stir in the sorghum flour a spoonful at a time while the pot bubbles, like making polenta, so it never turns lumpy.

180 min

Bajan Meat

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Kurban chorbaLamb and rice feast soup

On saints' days such as St George's in May or St Dimitar's in October, Bulgarian villages set big cauldrons over fires in the churchyard or square, and the kurban, the shared offering, is ladled out as a rich lamb soup to everyone who comes, neighbours and strangers alike. Lamb on the bone simmers gently with onion until tender, then the meat is pulled into pieces and returned to the broth with rice, carrot, red pepper, tomato, paprika, dried mint and plenty of parsley. It tastes deep, meaty and herby, sharpened with a squeeze of lemon, and bread on the side is traditional. The usual slip is skipping the skimming at the start; grey foam left in the pot muddies the broth. Chef's tip: rub the mint and savory between your palms over the pot in the last five minutes, so the herbs stay bright.

150 min

Bulgarian Soups

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DhodhaMilk, wheat and ghee fudge

Every bus that stops in Khushab, on the road between Sargodha and the Salt Range, is met by boys carrying boxes of dhodha, the town's famous sweet and a standard gift for anyone visiting family in Punjab. It is lighter in colour and softer than habshi halwa, a moist, crumbly fudge of slowly reduced milk, a little wheat flour, ghee and sugar, packed with almonds, pistachios and walnuts and pressed into slabs about two fingers thick. The flavour is milky and nutty with a gentle caramel note, and it is sliced and eaten with tea, especially in the cold months. Where people slip up is under-reducing the milk, so the dhodha never firms and stays soft like a halwa. Chef's tip: keep stirring after you add the sugar until the mass leaves the sides of the pan cleanly and holds a ridge when you draw the spoon through it, then press it into the tin while still warm.

180 min

Pakistani Indian Sweets

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DhidoBuckwheat flour porridge

Before rice reached every corner of Nepal, dhido was what filled bellies in the high villages of Jumla, Dolpa, Mustang and the middle hills, and it is now enjoying a comeback in Kathmandu restaurants as a wholesome, gluten-free choice. Buckwheat or millet flour is rained into boiling water and stirred with a flat wooden paddle until it becomes a smooth, heavy, elastic mass, which is eaten with the fingers, pinched off and dipped into a sour vegetable soup, a bowl of lentils or a fiery tomato pickle. It has an earthy, slightly bitter flavour and a satisfying, sticky texture that is meant to be swallowed rather than chewed. Lumps are what ruin it most often, and they come from adding the flour too quickly. Chef's tip: add the flour in a thin stream with one hand while stirring hard with the other, and keep beating for a full 10 minutes once it is all in.

30 min

Nepali Rice & Grains

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KvæfjordkakeSponge, meringue and cream cake

Kvæfjordkake comes from the Kvæfjord district in Troms, northern Norway, and Norwegians voted it their national cake, which is why it is also called 'verdens beste', the world's best cake: a thin buttery sponge baked with a layer of meringue and almonds on top, then cut in half and sandwiched with vanilla custard cream. It is baked for confirmations, May 17th and birthdays. A common mistake is underbaking the meringue, which goes sticky. Chef's tip: bake in a shallow tray and let the meringue turn pale golden and crisp; cool completely before filling.

70 minScandinavian Baking

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Bajre di rotiPearl millet flatbread

Pearl millet grows where wheat gives up, in the sandy fields on the edge of the Cholistan desert around Bahawalpur, and there bajre di roti is the bread of winter, thick, grey-green and earthy with a slightly sweet, nutty taste. Because millet has no gluten, the dough is kneaded one roti at a time and patted out between wet palms rather than rolled, which takes a little practice but no special equipment. In village homes it is eaten hot with a lump of white butter or ghee and a piece of jaggery, or with sarson ka saag and a bowl of lassi; for a vegan meal, serve it with saag cooked in oil. Making all the dough at once is the classic error: millet dough dries and cracks within minutes. Chef's tip: knead each portion fresh with warm water and the heel of your hand until it feels smooth and slightly sticky, like soft clay.

35 min

Pakistani Breads & Parathas

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AmandineChocolate sponge cakes

Every Bucharest cofetărie keeps a tray of amandine in the glass case, neat dark oblongs that generations of schoolchildren have bought with their pocket money. Despite the almond-sounding name there are no almonds in them: a cocoa sponge is split, soaked with a cocoa syrup, sandwiched with a rich chocolate custard buttercream and coated in a shiny ganache. Bakeries traditionally add rum to the syrup; this version is alcohol-free and uses vanilla and orange zest instead, though you can add 2 tablespoons of rum if you like. A common mistake is soaking the sponge while the syrup is still hot, which turns it to mush; both should be cool. Chef's tip: chill the filled cake until really firm before glazing and cutting, and wipe the knife hot between each cut for clean edges.

155 min

Romanian Baking

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Kyauk kyawTwo-layer coconut jelly

Trays of kyauk kyaw are cut into diamonds for nearly every Burmese celebration, from birthday donation lunches to the water-splashing days of Thingyan in April, when a cold, firm jelly is exactly what the heat calls for. Agar sets far firmer than gelatine, and that clean, snappy bite is the whole point: a translucent sweet layer on the bottom and an opaque, lightly salted coconut cream layer on top, each tasting of fresh coconut and a hint of pandan. It is served chilled, on its own or alongside shwe yin aye and other festival sweets. If the bottom layer sets completely hard before you pour the top, the two layers slide apart when you cut them. Chef's tip: pour the coconut layer while the clear layer has just formed a skin that holds a fingertip but is still warm.

30 min

Burmese Desserts

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BolicheChorizo-stuffed beef pot roast

Boliche is a Sunday and holiday centrepiece in Havana: an eye-of-round beef joint with a tunnel cut through the middle, stuffed with pork chorizo, then browned and braised slowly in tomato, onion, pepper, sour orange and dry white or red wine until it slices like butter. Potatoes go into the pot for the last hour to soak up the sauce. The wine is simmered for hours, though a little alcohol may remain; use extra stock with a spoon of vinegar for an alcohol-free version. The common mistake is rushing the braise, which leaves this lean cut tough, so keep the pot at a bare simmer. Chef's tip: chill the cooked roast in its sauce, then slice it cold and reheat the slices in the sauce; you get neat rounds with the chorizo in the centre.

210 min

Cuban Meat

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KystybyyPotato-filled flatbreads

Ask anyone in Kazan what they ate after school and many will say kystybyy, the folded Tatar flatbread sold warm in canteens and kiosks all over Tatarstan. Paper-thin rounds of unleavened dough are dry-cooked in a hot pan, filled while soft with mashed potato whipped with milk, butter and fried onion, folded into a half-moon and brushed with more butter. In older Tatar village kitchens the filling was millet porridge, which works just as well. Serve with tea, a bowl of soup or a glass of katyk, the Tatar soured milk. A common mistake is leaving the cooked flatbreads uncovered; they dry out and crack when folded, so stack them under a towel. Chef's tip: keep the pan dry and hot; 30–40 seconds a side gives brown freckles without stiffening the bread.

60 min

Russian Breads & Parathas

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Amala ko acharGooseberry pickle

Amala trees grow wild across the Chure hills and the lower valleys of Nepal, and in winter the hard, translucent green gooseberries are piled high in vegetable markets in Kathmandu, Hetauda and Butwal, prized as a source of vitamin C during the cold months. Steamed until they split into neat segments, then mixed with chilli, turmeric, fenugreek and hot mustard oil, they make a pickle that is crunchy, astringent, sour and spicy all at once, with a lingering sweetness that comes up after each bite. A spoonful goes alongside dal bhat or with a plain bowl of rice porridge when someone is unwell. The trap to avoid is steaming the berries too long, which turns them mushy and dull. Chef's tip: stop as soon as the first cracks appear on the skins; the segments should pull off the stone easily but still have a firm bite.

30 min

Nepali Chutneys & Dips

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Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup

Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.

70 min

Egyptian Soups

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DibsDate syrup

Across the Gulf, from the date gardens of Al-Ahsa to the oases of Oman and the UAE, dibs is the dark, glossy syrup pressed and boiled from ripe dates, and it was the region's sweetener long before sugar was common. It tastes of toffee and dried fruit with a faint bitterness, and families pour it over chebab and khameer, mix it with tahini for dipping bread, and use it in sweets like luqaimat. Making it at home takes time but little effort, and a kilo of dates gives a jar that lasts for months in the fridge. The mistake is boiling the strained juice too hard at the end: it scorches and turns bitter. Chef's tip: squeeze the date pulp in the cloth when it is still warm; you get far more juice than from cold pulp.

180 minGulf Arabian Basics

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Kancha aam makhaSpiced green mango

Outside every school gate in Bangladesh during the hot months, a vendor with a glass box on his cart sells green mango makha: unripe mango sliced paper-thin and squeezed by hand with salt, sugar, chilli and a splash of mustard oil, handed over in a cone of newspaper with a toothpick. Makha means mixed by hand, and the hand matters, as the squeezing bruises the mango so it softens and drinks in the seasoning. It tastes sour, sweet, salty and hot all at once, with the sharp nose-burn of raw mustard oil, and it is eaten as an afternoon snack in April and May, especially around Pohela Boishakh. Slicing the mango too thick is the error that leaves it hard and bland in the middle. Chef's tip: stir in a spoon of kasundi, Bengali mustard relish, for the version the street sellers call kasundi makha.

10 min

Bangladeshi Snacks & Starters

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Aloo tukTwice-fried pressed potatoes

Aloo tuk is the crunch on a Sindhi plate, the thing children steal first: small potatoes boiled, fried, squashed flat and fried again until they are craggy and crisp at the edges and fluffy within, then showered with red chilli, tangy amchur and salt. In Sindhi homes from Karachi to Shikarpur they sit beside Sindhi kadhi and rice or dal and bhuga chawal, and they are also served on their own as a teatime snack with green chutney. The most common error is pressing the potatoes while they are still raw-centred or too hot and wet, which makes them tear instead of flatten neatly. Chef's tip: after the first fry let them cool for five minutes, then press each one under a flat-bottomed bowl so it cracks at the edges, since those cracks become the crispest bits. For children, go easy on the chilli and use more amchur.

40 min

Pakistani Snacks & Starters

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Roz me'ammarCreamy clay-pot baked rice

Village kitchens across the Nile Delta, from Menoufia to Sharqia, slide a clay pot of roz me'ammar into the bread oven for feasts, Fridays and Eid lunch. Short-grain rice bakes slowly in milk, cream and butter until it sets into a soft, rich block with a crisp, golden-brown crust on top that everyone fights over. In the Delta it usually comes with roast pigeon or duck; for a meat-free table it is just as good with a sharp salad, pickles and a dish of mish. Stirring it once it is in the oven is the mistake to avoid: it breaks the crust and makes the rice gluey. Chef's tip: use Egyptian or other round, short-grain rice; long-grain rice will not drink up the milk the same way.

115 min

Egyptian Rice & Grains

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Beef smooreSpiced coconut milk beef roast

Smoore takes its name from the Dutch smoren, to braise, and in Burgher homes from Colombo to Galle it is the centrepiece for Christmas lunch or a big family Sunday: a whole joint of beef pierced, marinated in vinegar and spice, then simmered for hours in coconut milk with lemongrass, pandan and a spoonful of lime pickle. The pickle is the signature, adding a salty, bitter-sour sparkle that keeps the rich gravy lively. The joint is sliced at the table and served with yellow rice, a cucumber salad and plenty of the sauce. The biggest risk is letting the coconut milk boil fiercely for hours, which makes it split and greasy. Chef's tip: once the joint is browned, keep the pot at the barest shiver of a simmer, and turn the meat every half-hour so it cooks evenly.

210 min

Sri Lankan Meat

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BalachaungDried shrimp relish

Every Burmese pantry keeps a jar of balachaung, and along the Rakhine coast, where the dried shrimp come from, families fry it in big batches after the dry-season catch. Pounded dried shrimp are fried slowly with crisp shallots, garlic, chilli and a dab of shrimp paste until the whole lot turns into a dry, golden, crackling floss that is salty, smoky, a little sweet and quite hot. A spoonful lifts plain rice, a fried egg, rice porridge or a bowl of noodles, and it travels well, so students and travellers pack a jar to take away from home. Rushing it over a high heat is where most batches go wrong: the shrimp scorch and turn bitter before they are crisp, so keep the heat at medium-low and stir patiently. Chef's tip: fry the shallots and garlic separately and stir them back in only when the shrimp are done, so they stay crunchy for weeks.

45 min

Burmese Chutneys & Dips

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DemikátSheep's cheese soup over bread

Shepherds in the hills of central Slovakia needed only a kettle of water, a lump of bryndza and a loaf of bread to make demikát, a soup that comes together in a quarter of an hour at the salaš, the summer sheep hut. The soft, salty sheep's cheese is mashed with fried onion, paprika and caraway, loosened with boiling water and poured over chunks of bread, then finished with heaps of chives. It is tangy, creamy and very warming. Bryndza is traditionally made with animal rennet and sometimes from raw milk, so for a vegetarian, safer bowl choose a pasteurised sheep's cheese made with vegetarian rennet (a soft feta-style cheese mashed with a little cream cheese works well). The usual slip is boiling the soup after the cheese goes in, which makes it grainy; just bring it to steaming. Chef's tip: use day-old rye bread, toasted, so it soaks up the broth without falling apart.

20 min

Czech Soups

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DaqqusTomato garlic chilli sauce

Spoon by spoon, daqqus goes over almost every plate of kabsa, mandi and machboos from Riyadh to Kuwait City: a thin, bright sauce of ripe tomato, lots of garlic and hot chilli that cuts through rich rice. Restaurants in Najd serve it in little bowls beside the rice tray, and some families make it raw, others cook it briefly as here, which mellows the garlic and deepens the colour. It should be pourable and tangy, not thick like ketchup. People often overcook it into a paste; keep it loose with a splash of water. It also works with grilled fish and eggs. Chef's tip: grate the tomatoes on a box grater and discard the skins for a silky sauce without blending.

20 minGulf Arabian Chutneys & Dips

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Kalo jeera bhortaNigella seed mash

A bhorta lunch spread in a Bangladeshi home always has one tiny, dark mound that people eat a pinch at a time, and that is kalo jeera bhorta. Nigella seeds are toasted until fragrant, then ground on the shil-pata, the stone slab and roller, with garlic, roasted dried chilli, onion and mustard oil into a coarse, almost black paste that is nutty, bitter and fiery all at once. Grandmothers serve it in winter, believing it wards off colds, and a little is mixed into the first handful of hot rice before moving on to fish or dal. Burnt seeds make it acrid, so the trap is toasting over too high a heat; stop as soon as they smell toasty and start to pop. Chef's tip: grind the seeds alone first, then add the garlic and oil, for a smoother paste in a small grinder.

15 min

Bangladeshi Chutneys & Dips

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BalanguGrilled spiced mutton

At balangu spots around Kano and the northern cities, the meat is cooked on flat stones heated by fire underneath, so it sears in its own fat rather than over flames. Mutton is the classic, with bone and a little fat left on; beef works too. It comes off crusty and smoky, then is tossed with yaji, the northern peanut-chilli spice, and served on paper with raw onion, tomato and cabbage, eaten with the fingers in the evening. A heavy cast-iron pan or griddle gives the same effect at home. Marinate in the fridge, not on the counter, and cook the pieces until no pink remains and they reach 71 °C. Chef's tip: get the iron smoking hot before the meat goes on and do not crowd it; overcrowding is the classic mistake that leaves the meat grey and stewed.

50 min

Nigerian Meat

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KålrabistappeMashed swede

Kålrabistappe is the bright orange mash of swede that sits beside almost every Norwegian winter dinner: with pinnekjøtt lamb ribs at Christmas in western Norway, with raspeballer on Thursdays, with salted meat and sausages. It is simple: swede and a little potato boiled soft and mashed with butter, a splash of the cooking water and nutmeg. A common mistake is mashing it in a blender, which makes it gluey. Chef's tip: let the swede steam dry in the pan for a couple of minutes after draining; the mash stays fluffy, not watery.

40 minScandinavian Sides

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Balatoni hekkFried hake

Hake never swam in Lake Balaton, yet fried hekk is the taste of a Hungarian summer at the lake: a paper tray of hot, crisp fish bought from a beach kiosk in Siófok or Balatonboglár, eaten in a swimsuit with lemon squeezed over and a slice of white bread. Cleaned, headless hake pieces are rolled in seasoned flour with a little paprika and fried until the outside crackles and the white flesh inside is soft and juicy. Serve with lemon, bread and a sharp cucumber salad. The usual slip is not drying the fish, so the flour turns pasty; pat it well with paper first. If the fish is frozen, thaw it in the fridge overnight, never on the counter. Chef's tip: flour the fish only at the last moment, just before it goes into the oil, so the coating stays dry and crisp.

25 min

Hungarian Fish

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BalayHand-pulled noodles in mutton broth

Skardu sits at almost 2,500 metres, and through its long, dry winters Balti households lean on balay, a sturdy soup of thick wheat noodles pinched and pulled by hand into a mutton broth with turnip, potato, carrot and greens. It is the Balti cousin of Tibetan thukpa, eaten for supper in deep bowls, often with a hot green chilli on the side and salty butter tea to follow. The noodles are fat, chewy and irregular, and they thicken the broth slightly as they cook, which is exactly right. Rolling the dough too thin is a common slip; balay noodles should be the thickness of a pencil so they stay springy. Chef's tip: let the dough rest a full 20 minutes before pulling it, because a rested dough stretches without tearing and gives silkier noodles.

100 min

Pakistani Soups

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EtoMashed yam with palm oil

Eto is a dish for marking occasions among the Akan, made on birthdays and celebration mornings, when boiled yam (or plantain) is mashed in an earthenware asanka bowl with red palm oil, raw onion and a little pepper until it turns golden and fragrant. It is served in a mound with halved boiled eggs, slices of ripe avocado and a handful of roasted groundnuts, so every mouthful is soft, buttery and crunchy at once. It is filling, simple and very good. Avoid mashing the yam to a smooth purée; eto should keep a rough, crushed texture. Chef's tip: mash the yam while it is steaming hot and add the oil at the same time, because cold yam goes gluey and will not absorb the oil evenly.

40 min

Ghanaian Vegetarian

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DaudoHand-cut noodle soup with mutton

Once snow closes the passes into Hunza and the apricot trees are bare, families gather around a pot of daudo: a mutton broth thick with short, hand-rolled wheat noodles, potatoes, carrots, spinach and plenty of fresh coriander and mint. It is everyday mountain food, eaten for supper from deep bowls and passed to anyone who comes in from the cold, sometimes with a spoonful of local apricot-kernel oil on top. The noodles are rough and chewy, the broth peppery and green with herbs. Adding the noodles too early leaves them swollen and the soup gluey, so keep them for the last few minutes. Chef's tip: for a vegetarian version, simmer the vegetables in a good vegetable stock and add a handful of chickpeas instead of the mutton.

105 min

Pakistani Soups

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Kalu dodolRice flour and jaggery sweet

Hambantota and Kalutara both claim the best kalu dodol, and roadside shops in each town sell long, black, glistening slabs wrapped in paper, bought by travellers as gifts for the family back home. The sweet is a test of stamina: coconut milk is cooked down until its oil separates, then rice flour and kithul jaggery are stirred in and the mixture is worked over the heat for two to three hours until it turns dark, glossy and stiff, with cashews and cardamom added at the end. It sets into a chewy, fudgy sweet with a deep caramel and coconut flavour, and is served in thin slices during Avurudu and at weddings. Giving up too early is the one mistake everyone makes once; undercooked dodol stays sticky and grey instead of firm and almost black. Chef's tip: use the widest heavy pan you have and a long wooden spoon, and keep stirring the same direction, scraping the base, so nothing catches.

195 min

Sri Lankan Desserts

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Aloo goshtMutton and potato curry

If one curry stands for a weekday dinner in a Pakistani house, from Rawalpindi flats to Karachi's Nazimabad, it is aloo gosht: mutton on the bone and halved potatoes in a loose, peppery shorba meant to be soaked up with chapati or poured over plain rice. Nothing about it is fancy; its comfort comes from a long bhuna of onion, tomato and spice before any water goes in, so the thin gravy still tastes deep. The potatoes go in once the meat is half done and come out soft at the edges, having drunk the gravy. Adding them at the start leaves them falling apart while the meat is still chewy, so wait. Chef's tip: when the masala is fully fried, add the water boiling hot, not cold, so the meat keeps cooking and the shorba stays clear rather than greasy.

90 min

Pakistani Meat

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Balish mishtiGiant pillow-shaped chhana sweet

Balish means pillow, and in Netrokona, in the north of Mymensingh division, this sweet is sold in sizes up to the length of a hand: a huge, soft, oblong chhana sweet cooked in syrup until golden and spongy, then smothered with a layer of thick, creamy reduced milk. A sweet-maker in the town created it in the early twentieth century and it is now the gift people bring to weddings and family visits in the region, sliced at the table and shared. The inside is soft and syrupy, the topping rich like clotted cream. Large chhana shapes crack open in the boiling syrup if the dough isn't kneaded long enough, which is the main thing that goes wrong, so take the full 10 minutes. Chef's tip: a spoon of plain flour in the chhana helps the big pillows hold their shape as they swell.

120 min

Bangladeshi Indian Sweets

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Aloo andayPotato and egg curry

Ask almost anyone who grew up in a Punjabi household in Pakistan what was cooked at the end of the month, when the meat money had run out, and aloo anday will come up with real affection. Halved hard-boiled eggs and chunks of potato sit in a loose, brick-red shorba of browned onion and tomato, thin enough to soak into a chapati and rice alike, with a cut green chilli on top. It is a weeknight and Sunday-brunch dish rather than a guest dish, and children tend to love it. Where it goes wrong is in the masala: if the onions and tomatoes are not fried until the oil separates, the gravy tastes raw and watery however long it simmers. Chef's tip: score the peeled eggs lightly with a knife and fry them in the masala for a minute before the water goes in, so they take on colour and flavour.

40 min

Pakistani Curries

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BallokumeCornmeal butter cookies

Every 14 March, Elbasan in central Albania celebrates Dita e Verës, Summer Day, an old spring festival that is now a national holiday, and the whole town smells of ballokume. These pale golden cookies are made from cornmeal, lots of butter, sugar and eggs, beaten until almost fluffy, then baked into little domes that crack on top and melt into sandy, buttery crumbs. Families give plates of them to neighbours and children nibble them alongside the red-and-white spring bracelets called verore; they are lovely with tea or Turkish-style coffee. This version is gluten free, made with fine cornmeal and cornflour, so check both packets carry a gluten-free label. Under-beating is the classic error: the butter and sugar need a full ten minutes until almost white, or the cookies bake dense and greasy. Chef's tip: chill the shaped cookies for 15 minutes before baking so they keep their dome.

45 minBalkan Baking

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Lassy mogsMolasses cookies

Lassy mogs are the soft, cakey cookies of Newfoundland Christmas tins, from the days when molasses (lassy) was the sweetener every outport kitchen kept. They are dark, spicy and chewy with raisins, dates and sometimes coconut, and are eaten with a cup of tea after a cold walk. A common mistake is baking them until firm; they should still look slightly soft in the middle when they come out. Chef's tip: chill the dough for half an hour so it scoops easily and the cookies keep their dome.

30 min

Canadian Baking

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KalkanFried turbot steaks

Turbot season on the Bulgarian Black Sea is short and strictly controlled, so in spring locals in Burgas and Balchik queue at the fish market for kalkan, the flat, diamond-shaped fish with firm, sweet white flesh. Seaside restaurants cut it across the bone into thick steaks, dust them with flour and fry them in sunflower oil until the skin is crisp and the flesh pearly, then serve them simply with lemon and a crunchy salad of shredded cabbage and carrot dressed with vinegar. Brill or halibut steaks work the same way if turbot is out of reach. A common mistake is turning the fish too soon, which tears the crust; leave it until it releases from the pan by itself. Chef's tip: score the dark skin twice so the steaks stay flat and cook evenly.

30 min

Bulgarian Fish

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